[Sca-cooks] Partial Mughal Cookbook

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

At 11:03 AM -0500 23/06/06, on a different list than this one, a girl 
named Sue wrote:
>Here is a book I have seen for sale but have not bought yet -
>"Nuskha-e-Shahjahani : Pulaos from the Royal Kitchen of Shah Jahan"
>by Salma Husain.  Shah Jahan ruled from 1628 - 1658, so it is out
>of period slightly.  I think most copies are in India or Britain which
>means high shipping costs.  But it sounds very interesting.

I finally went and ordered it on 11 July and it was shipped on 12 
July. It took less time to get here than i
thought it would to get here from India - it just arrived today.

The author says she translated it from the original Persian in which 
it was written. She also says that the recipes in this book are 
merely a selection from a larger book (darn, i want the whole thing 
:-)

As published, every recipe is set up in two columns. There is a list 
of ingredients and quantities on one side of the page, and organized 
and orderly cooking instructions on the other. The author mentions 
that the original recipes give measurements and are very detailed. 
The quantities are given in period measurements, but the directions 
seem rather modern, although perhaps it's only a few of her word 
choices that make it seem modern (like "saute" and "par-boil"). So i 
can't tell if these are close to the originals or merely "inspired 
by" her translation of them.

Sigh. So hard to tell... I guess i'll assume that they are accurate 
and it is just the author's choice of some modern feeling words here 
and there that is giving me doubts.

The recipes do look tasty. And even if the author modernized them a 
little, they're still closer to period recipes than a modern Mughal 
or Persian cookbook.

I just wish i had ALL the recipes from the old cookbook!
---
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita